Crisis in the Middle East, day by day

[Fredfredson]

Crisis in the Middle East, day by day
Jul. 22, 2006. 01:00 AM

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...l=968350116467

June 9

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Eight members of a Palestinian family are killed while picnicking on a beach in Gaza in an apparent Israeli shelling. The bloody images of dead Palestinian civilians and wailing survivors on the beach kindle anger against Israel.

June 10

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After the beach bombing and Israeli forces' killing of a top Gaza militant, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declares a three-day mourning period, and Hamas' military wing says it would no longer honour a 16-month cease-fire with Israel.

June 25

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Palestinian militants infiltrate into Israel through a tunnel at a Gaza border crossing, kill two Israeli soldiers and capture another, Cpl. Gilad Shalit. The militants

demand the release of detained Palestinian women and children in return for information about Shalit.

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Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rejects the demands and orders the military to prepare for combat. Israel sends ground troops into Gaza after the assault and warns that militants and their leaders would be killed if the abducted soldier is harmed.

July 12

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Hezbollah militants attack Israel, kill seven Israeli soldiers, wound eight and capture two. The group says it captured the soldiers to secure the release of detainees held in Israeli prisons.

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Israeli rockets target roads and bridges in southern Lebanon in an apparent attempt to block escape routes, and troops enter the country to search for the abducted soldiers. Eight soldiers are killed and two injured in fighting with Hezbollah.

July 13

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Israel's first wave of air strikes cripple and destroy essential infrastructure in Lebanon, including runways and fuel storage tanks at Beirut's international airport, military bases, and the main highway between Beirut and Damascus. About 60 people in Lebanon are killed during the missile strikes.

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Hezbollah reacts to the Israeli strikes, launching over 100 Katushya rockets into northern Israel and killing two civilians. A rocket strikes Haifa, Israel's third-largest city.

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Prime Minister Stephen Harper calls the Israeli response to Hezbollah's initial attack "measured."

July 14

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Israeli air strikes continue to pummel Lebanon. More roads and runways are destroyed and Hezbollah's headquarters in Beirut is hit.

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Following the attack, Hezbollah TV airs a recorded audio speech during which Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the group's secretary general, says: "You want an open war, we will go to the open war. We are ready for it. War, war on every level."

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It is reported that a Hezbollah rocket launched into the northern Israeli town of Meron kills a woman and 4-year-old girl.

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The United Nations Security Council meets in an emergency session to discuss a request by Lebanon to condemn the Israeli attacks. It is unable to agree on a response, but issues a brief statement calling for countries in the region to co-operate with UN efforts to arrange a ceasefire.

July 15

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An Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon kills 15 people, including several children, Lebanese police report. Eighteen Lebanese villagers attempting to flee to the southern city of Tyre are killed when missiles hit their vehicles.

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Hezbollah volleys rockets at the Israeli city of Tiberias, near the Lebanon-Israel border. Rockets also hit other Israeli cities near the border. No injuries are reported.

July 16

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The Israeli military initiates air strikes targeting central Beirut, its suburbs and a key power plant. Eight Canadians are killed, including Ali El-Akhras, his wife Amira, and their four children aged 1, 4, 6 and 8. The extended family from Montreal was on holiday in the village of Aitaroun.

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Hezbollah missiles target a rail repair station in Haifa. Eight people are killed.

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Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay announces the government intends to evacuate Canadian citizens from Lebanon as soon as possible.

July 17

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Israeli air strikes extend to the north, killing at least 15 people in and around Lebanon's second-largest city, Tripoli. Also under attack are Beirut, the eastern city of Baalbek and the port of Abdeh. Ten people are reportedly killed while driving across a bridge south of Beirut as Israeli missiles strike, as are nine Lebanese soldiers in Abdeh and nine Lebanese civilians in a missile attack in the city of Tyre — all were from one family, six of them children. Six Lebanese civilians are killed in an air strike on the village of Aitaroun, witnesses tell Hezbollah TV.

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In Israel, Olmert says the attacks will not end until the two captured Israeli soldiers are freed and Hezbollah is no longer a threat.

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Hezbollah continues to fire rockets into Israel, destroying an apartment block in Haifa and killing three people. A rocket lands near a hospital in Safed, reportedly injuring six people.

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UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair suggest sending an international force to Lebanon to halt the Hezbollah attacks, but Israel says it is too soon to consider such a move.

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Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank city of Nablus ambush Israeli troops, killing one and wounding six.

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In Gaza City, Israeli air strikes destroy the Palestinian foreign ministry building.

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The international community steps up its evacuation of foreigners from Beirut, as thousands of Lebanese flee their homes. Canada hires seven ships from Cyprus to provide passage to Canadians who wish to evacuate Lebanon.

July 18

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Israeli strikes continue for a seventh day, again hitting Beirut and Tyre. Eleven Lebanese soldiers die and 35 are injured in an air attack in the east of Beirut, and six bodies are pulled from the rubble of a building in the town of Aitaroun.

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Hezbollah rockets continue to target the Israeli port city of Haifa.

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The UN warns of a humanitarian disaster as Lebanese flee their homes, with air strikes on roads and bridges making it difficult for help to reach those in need. Annan calls for an international force to stop the fighting but the U.S. and Israel indicate they're not in agreement with the suggestion.

July 19

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About 270 Canadians are evacuated from Beirut, after just one of seven ships shows up, while hundreds of other people are turned away at the city's port.

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Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora says 300 people have been killed in the Israeli offensive, including at least 55 Lebanese civilians in air strikes. He appeals for an end to the hostilities and says Lebanon "has been torn to shreds."

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Twenty-nine Israelis have died — including 15 civilians killed by rocket attacks — since the Israeli offensive against Hezbollah militants began.

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Residents in the southern village of Srifa say at least 12 people are killed, while at least six people die in the southern town of Nabatiyeh.

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Scores of Hezbollah rockets are fired into northern Israel, where two children in Nazareth are killed. Rocket fire also hits other cities, including Haifa and Tiberias.

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Relief agencies announce that 500,000 people are now displaced within Lebanon and the need for water, food and shelter will soon be dire.

July 20

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Nearly 1,400 Canadians are evacuated by ship from Beirut. The Canadian embassy says it could be two weeks before all the Canadians who want out can be evacuated.

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Meanwhile, Harper meets the first evacuees in Cyprus, and flies 88 of them home to Canada aboard a government plane.

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Israeli army strikes in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip kill three people, including a 10-year-old girl, according to Palestinian medical personnel.

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Annan presses for an "immediate" ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, and unveils a settlement plan involving the early release of two captured Israeli soldiers and the deployment of a stabilization force.

July 21

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About 850 Canadians are evacuated by ship out of Beirut.

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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice rejects the idea of an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

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The death toll: at least 335 people in Lebanon, 34 in Israel.

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Israeli tanks mass at the Lebanese border, apparently in preparation for a full-scale land invasion.

Compiled by Victoria Kent

Sources: Star files, Reuters

[Dufrel]

Weren't the Isreali shellings that killed the family in response to rocket attackes that killed civilians the day before?

Interesting how the article starts off as if the Israel attacks were unprovoked agressionn. Of course tit for tat has been going on for as long as the states have existed, but the article certainly implies that Israel started the current conflict...

*edit* found a link

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/06/09/isrlpa11106.htm

[CockySOB]

To be fair, the article would need to reach back into 1947 I would think. Possibly further back.

[Neko]

I thought that Israel was still denying responsability for the beach thing anyway.

[sinterest]

Originally Posted by CockySOB

To be fair, the article would need to reach back into 1947 I would think. Possibly further back.

I whole heartedly agree.
The WAR between the occupying Jews and the Pre 1947 arabs has been on-going for the past 60 years.
The latest "twist" is that Israel has CAPTURED hundreds of Arab fighters.
The "other side" in this war has "KIDNAPPED" 2 or 3 Israeli fighters.

Again, Cocky is spot on; nothing is new.

Arms shipments are only allowed to one side, just to keep things even ya know.

[CockySOB]

BTW, I disagree with the term "kidnapped." That implies an action which should be policed and/or litigated, rather than it being an ongoing act of war.

I made comment earlier that if the prisoners at Gitmo were to be deemed as enemy combatants, then the status of "war" is accurate. As such, the Israelis have been at war with Hamas, Hizb'Allah and the other terrorist groups which have been attacking her since her inception. So the word "kidnapped" is inappropriate, to be replaced with the word "captured."

BTW, I notice that people like to talk about the occupation of Palestine, yet it seems that the outrage is reserved for only Israeli "occupation." Notice that the Syrians occupied Lebanon since the 2000 Israeli pull-ot, yet nary a word is said of that.

[Gilles de Rais]

Originally Posted by CockySOB

BTW, I notice that people like to talk about the occupation of Palestine, yet it seems that the outrage is reserved for only Israeli "occupation." Notice that the Syrians occupied Lebanon since the 2000 Israeli pull-ot, yet nary a word is said of that.

With all due respect, it's probably because you read only US medias.

The lebanon civil war, between christians, arabs, syrians, israelis...was reported in the French media, for example and Syria roundly criticised.

Arguably, you have a point, Israel stirs up passions more. Jewish people might see it as a proof of anti semitism. I think it has more to do with the uniqueness of Israel, created mostly by the international community and therefore said international community feel somewhat responsible for Israelis' actions...

[suedanim]

July 12

#
Hezbollah militants attack Israel, kill seven Israeli soldiers, wound eight and capture two. The group says it captured the soldiers to secure the release of detainees held in Israeli prisons.

#
Israeli rockets target roads and bridges in southern Lebanon in an apparent attempt to block escape routes, and troops enter the country to search for the abducted soldiers. Eight soldiers are killed and two injured in fighting with Hezbollah.

This might be posted somewhere else on this site, but I thoght it would fit here too.

We are taking Israel's word on everything that is occurring? Israel is without fault, doesn't lie? But, the timeline lists the Hezbollah attack at Haifa, even though this report on July 13 says otherwise.

If it really happened, then Israel had a perfect excuse for more aggression. But, the question is... did it happen or the way Israel says it happened? We only get one version and thats Israel's version.

Hezbollah Denies Firing Rockets at Haifa


Thursday July 13, 2006 7:31 PM

AP Photo JRL111

NAHARIYA, Israel (AP) - At least one Katyusha rocket hit the northern city of Haifa on Thursday, but no one was injured, Israeli authorities said. Hezbollah denied it had fired any rockets at the port city.

Residents were told to stay near bomb shelters in case of more attacks.
Any attack on the city of 270,000 people about 30 miles from the border was certain to invite a harsh response from Israel, which was already pounding Lebanon following the capture of two soldiers.

``Those who fire into such a densely populated area will pay a heavy price,'' said David Baker, an official in the Israeli prime minister's office.
Hezbollah deputy leader Sheik Naim Kassem denied in an telephone interview with Al-Jazeera that his group fired any rockets at Haifa, adding this will happen if ``Beirut or its southern suburbs are attacked.''

Israeli army and police said the rocket hit the Haifa neighborhood of Stella Maris, an area popular with Christian tourists that is filled with restaurants, a monastery and a church.

The Israeli ambassador to the United States, Daniel Ayalon, said the attack on Haifa was ``a major, major escalation'' in the conflict.

``They have more than 10,000 rockets. For them to do this, in Haifa is a major escalation,'' Ayalon said at a news conference at the National Press Club.

Asked if Israel was at war, Ayalon said yes.
``The objective is to win this war,'' he said. ``We certainly are not aggressors. We responded. Our objective is to neutralize these groups.''

[contracycle]

..

[Neko]

That was my point in response to Duf, if Israel is claiming that it had nothing to do ith the shelling it can't very well say at the same time that it was in response to a Palestinian attack.

Not even the Israelis can have their cake and eat it.

[Dufrel]

That was my point in response to Duf, if Israel is claiming that it had nothing to do ith the shelling it can't very well say at the same time that it was in response to a Palestinian attack.

According to what I had read, at the very least they admited to shelling an area near there (a few hundred meters away) as a responsive attack. I don't doubt they killed that family at all.